Riding in on her hit song's namesake, Miley Cyrus bounced from deep in the charts to attain her first career number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Watch that song's eye-catching music video below and then step into the wayback machine to see the biggest hits from this week in 2004, 1994, 1984 and 1974.

Carl Zimmermann, the south side boy who became the silver-haired dean of broadcast news in Milwaukee after half a century in radio and TV, died Friday. He was 96.

Zimmermann, credited as having had the longest on-air career in Milwaukee broadcasting, died of heart problems and pneumonia at the Milwaukee Catholic Home, where he had lived for the past eight years with his wife, Doris. | April 11, 2014»Read Full Article

With a savage winter apparently behind us, the Milwaukee Brewers playing baseball and the Summerfest lineup largely filled out, many of us are poised to make the quantum leap to summer.

But the local performing arts season still has much to offer before we get to Milwaukee's brief, blessed outdoor entertainment months. Here are 10 enticing shows to consider before summer begins. | April 11, 2014»Read Full Article

In its 2014-'15 season, the Florentine Opera Company will offer its audience bonus music — a concert production of an American opera in addition to three fully staged operas and a Studio Artists concert.

The Florentine can do so, general director William Florescu said, in part because it already owns or will build all of its productions next season, keeping costs down. That's the challenge now for any arts group, he said: Do things as economically as possible while expanding what it does. | April 11, 2014»Read Full Article

In Mona Simpson's new novel, "Casebook," young Miles' mother has the same name as Sherlock Holmes' enchanting nemesis: Irene Adler. And to Miles, just as to Sherlock, "she is always the woman."

Miles begins spying on her when he's 9, hiding a walkie-talkie under her bed with the help of his buddy Hector in an attempt to figure out why she won't let him watch "Survivor." But he begins learning much more about her failing marriage, her friends and her difficulties. "I only discovered what I most didn't want to know," the boy declares. | April 11, 2014»Read Full Article

On Thursday evening, the PEN American Center staged a protest against China's efforts to silence artists, writers and intellectuals at the Brooklyn Public Library. Last month, PEN named economist and activist Ilham Tohti the winner of the 2014 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. This prompted the Chinese government to issue "an angry defense of their unfounded prosecution" against Tohti, PEN said in a statement.

"Doctor Who," J.R.R. Tolkien, "Sherlock," Harry Potter — just some of the topics being explored in panels, activities and more at the UK Expo Friday through Sunday at Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 333 W. Kilbourn Ave. Highlights include a steampunk short-film showcase, a costume contest and a "Mystery Science Theatre 3000"-style look at "Doctor Who." It costs $42 to register at the door.

Brunch ought to have a certain sturdiness to it, if only to counter any unsteadiness in the diners consuming it.

Consider that it's the first meal of the day, doing the work of two and arriving when the day is well underway. It's leisurely, too, with much chatting and sipping. A meal that fortifies with every bite is imperative. | April 11, 2014»Read Full Article(2)